The subway system is very safe. Don’t worry about riding it. It runs from very early in the morning until about about 12:30 a.m. It costs $2.00 each way (bus costs $1.50). The smart thing is to get a 7-Day Link Pass, which is all-you-can-eat for bus and train for a week for $15. You can use it everywhere. You can get passes in most stations, but the easiest place would be at the South Station stop which is closest to the conference. The website for the transportation system (there are nice maps) is here: www.mbta.com
There are four subway lines (red, orange, blue, and green). For some fun trivia that not even the natives know - they got their names this way: “blue” because that line was first in the world to travel under a body of water; “green” because it goes along the main gardens and parks in the city; “red” because that line goes to Harvard; and “orange” because it was built under Orange Street (now called Washington Street - where the tuesday night event at FELT is).
Almost everything a visitor would want to do in Boston will be reachable by red and green lines. Trains run about every 10 minutes - but not nearly as reliably as in Europe.
The conference is closest to the Red Line South Station stop - but be aware that the center is a solid 10-minute walk southeast from there over the bridge (away from direction of the city). Note that if you walk from the Convention Center to FELT on Tuesday (and there isn’t really any better way) you have a 14-18 minute walk in the cold and dark.
When you’re sightseeing in Boston, everything else is going to be in the other direction from South Station. The ‘downtown’ of Boston (where many historical sights are) is about a 12-minute walk directly north from South Station. The two subway stations closest to the historical tourist center of the city are State Street (orange line) and Government Center (green line) where you should just follow the herds of people across the plaza, and down the big long steps. The nightclub strip in Boston is on Landsdowne street - right next to baseball stadium - so take the green line to Kenmore Square and it’s two blocks south on the bridge over the interstate.
There are taxis everywhere. The average trip inside the city is about $8.00 with tip. (A cab to or from the airport will be about $25 with tip) Here are the numbers of a few taxis:
Boston Cab, 617-536-5010 | City Cab, 617-536-5100 | Town Taxi, 617-536-5000
But there are many cab stands near hotels and nightspots - so it is unlikely you will have to call one.
For visitors to Boston:
The subway system is very safe. Don’t worry about riding it. It runs from very early in the morning until about about 12:30 a.m. It costs $2.00 each way (bus costs $1.50). The smart thing is to get a 7-Day Link Pass, which is all-you-can-eat for bus and train for a week for $15. You can use it everywhere. You can get passes in most stations, but the easiest place would be at the South Station stop which is closest to the conference. The website for the transportation system (there are nice maps) is here: www.mbta.com
There are four subway lines (red, orange, blue, and green). For some fun trivia that not even the natives know - they got their names this way: “blue” because that line was first in the world to travel under a body of water; “green” because it goes along the main gardens and parks in the city; “red” because that line goes to Harvard; and “orange” because it was built under Orange Street (now called Washington Street - where the tuesday night event at FELT is).
Almost everything a visitor would want to do in Boston will be reachable by red and green lines. Trains run about every 10 minutes - but not nearly as reliably as in Europe.
The conference is closest to the Red Line South Station stop - but be aware that the center is a solid 10-minute walk southeast from there over the bridge (away from direction of the city). Note that if you walk from the Convention Center to FELT on Tuesday (and there isn’t really any better way) you have a 14-18 minute walk in the cold and dark.
When you’re sightseeing in Boston, everything else is going to be in the other direction from South Station. The ‘downtown’ of Boston (where many historical sights are) is about a 12-minute walk directly north from South Station. The two subway stations closest to the historical tourist center of the city are State Street (orange line) and Government Center (green line) where you should just follow the herds of people across the plaza, and down the big long steps. The nightclub strip in Boston is on Landsdowne street - right next to baseball stadium - so take the green line to Kenmore Square and it’s two blocks south on the bridge over the interstate.
There are taxis everywhere. The average trip inside the city is about $8.00 with tip. (A cab to or from the airport will be about $25 with tip) Here are the numbers of a few taxis:
Boston Cab, 617-536-5010 | City Cab, 617-536-5100 | Town Taxi, 617-536-5000
But there are many cab stands near hotels and nightspots - so it is unlikely you will have to call one.